Name: ________________________________

University of California, Berkeley Fall Semester, 2021

Civil and Environmental Engineering

PhD Preliminary Examination - Dynamics

Problem 1 (20% weight)

A single degree of freedom structure has a height of 330 feet, a bending stiffness of EI = 2x1011 kip-
ft2, and a weight of W = 9,000 kips, as shown in Figure 1a. Assume that the structure is clamped at
the base and the rotational inertia of the mass about its center is zero.
(a) Determine the maximum shear in the structure due to the impulse of horizontal ground
acceleration shown in Figure 1(b). You may use the shock spectrum in Figure 4.9.3 below
which is applicable for zero damping.
(b) Now assume the structure has 5% damping. Explain how you would modify your result from
part (a). You do not need to do any calculations.

Acceleration [g]
0.5
W

EI h = 330 ft

0.2 0.4
Time [s]
Figure 1a
Figure 1b
 Name: ________________________________

University of California, Berkeley Fall Semester, 2021

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Problem 2 (45% weight)

(a) You are asked to design a base isolation system for the SDOF structure from Problem 1, as
shown in Figure 2. The weight of the base is 2/3 of the weight of the superstructure (Wb =
2W/3). Determine the spring stiffness, kb, required to increase the fundamental natural period
of the structure to 4 times the natural period of the structure from Problem 1.

(b) The design spectrum is shown in Figure 4b for a damping ratio of ζ = 5%. The PGA for the
site is 0.6g. Assuming that the damper can be designed to provide 5% damping in the first
mode, determine the maximum shear force in the structure due to the first mode response
only.

(c) Explain the additional steps you would take to include both modes when determining the
maximum shear force in the structure. You do not need to do any calculations but please use
equations to explain the steps.

kb
Wb
cb

Figure 2a

Figure 2b
 Name: ________________________________

University of California, Berkeley Fall Semester, 2021

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Problem 3 (35% weight)

The rigid rod shown in Figure 3 has a total mass of M and is supported by two springs of stiffness k.
The center of the rod is prevented from translating horizontally.

Derive the equations of motion for free vibration. Clearly define the coordinates (i.e. the locations of
the displacements or rotations) that you use in your derivation, including where they are zero.
Assume small rotations.

Rigid rod with total mass = M

k k

L L
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Spring Semester 2021 Structural Engineering, Mechanics and Materials
Name: __________________________________
Ph.D. Preliminary Examination
Dynamics

Two pages of useful formulas are m = 10,000 kg

attached at the end of the exam.
3.5 m

Question 1 (40% weight)

The structure shown in Fig. 1(a) is ground shaking
(a)
subjected to a free-vibration 7.5 m
experiment, results of which are
shown in Fig. 1(b).

i) Estimate the natural period and

damping ratio.
ii) For the spectrum shown in Fig.
1(c), but scaled to 0.8g PGA,
determine the base shear
coefficient of the structure.
iii) The displacement of the beam
should not exceed 0.025 m. If a
linear viscous damper is installed
diagonally in the frame to ensure
that the drift limit is not exceeded,
determine its minimum damping
coefficient cd.

(b)
A (g)

(c) Tn (s)

Figure 1
Question 2 (60% weight)
The dynamics of a vehicle crossing a single-span bridge can be idealized using the model shown
in Fig. 2. The vehicle is represented by the mass-spring-dashpot system with properties mv , k, and
c. The suspension system remains vertical and in contact with the road at all times. The bridge
deck of length L is represented by a beam with uniform flexural rigidity EI and uniform mass per
unit length m. The vehicle is traveling with a constant speed v. If the bridge deck displacement is
given by ub ( x, t )   ( x ) z (t ) , where the vibration shape is assumed to be  ( x)  sin( x / L) , and
that the absolute vertical displacement of the vehicle mass is uv(t), obtain the equations of motion
for the system while the vehicle is on the bridge.

Useful expressions:
For the deck: ub ( x, t )   ( x ) z (t )
L L
m   m( x)[ ( x)]2 dx k   EI ( x)[ ( x)]2 dx
0 0
L L
p (t )   p ( x, t ) ( x)dx  sin
2
( x / L)dx  L / 2
0 0

Figure 2
 Name: ________________________________

University of California, Berkeley Structural Engineering, Mechanics & Materials

Civil and Environmental Engineering Spring Semester, 2020

Comprehensive Examination - Dynamics

Problem 1 (50% weight)

A single-degree-of-freedom oscillator has a mass of 100 lb, a natural period of 0.5 seconds, and a
fraction of critical damping of 5%. The oscillator is subjected to a harmonic ground motion with an
amplitude of 0.1g and a frequency of 4 Hz.

Determine the maximum total displacement of the mass.

Problem 2 (50% weight)

Figure 1 shows a one-story portal frame. Assume the floor remains horizontal during motion. The
floor weight is W = 80 kips. The columns have a height of h = 12 ft and a flexural rigidity of EI = 2
x 106 lb-ft2. Assume that the force–deformation relation is elastoplastic, the design
earthquake has a peak ground acceleration of 0.6g, and the elastic design spectrum in Fig. 6.9.5
applies (after scaling to the correct PGA).
Determine the lateral force for which the frame should be designed if:
(a) the system is required to remain elastic
(b) the allowable ductility factor is 4.

h EI EI

Figure 1
 Name: ________________________________

University of California, Berkeley Structural Engineering, Mechanics & Materials

Civil and Environmental Engineering Spring Semester, 2019

Comprehensive Examination - Dynamics

Problem 1 (30% weight)

Consider an industrial machine that weighs 1000 lbs and is supported on spring-type isolators of
total stiffness k = 3000 lb/ft. The machine operates at a frequency of f = 2 Hz with a force unbalance
of po = 100 lbs. Assume 5% damping.

(a) Determine the maximum displacement of the machine (from the at rest position) during steady
state oscillation.

Problem 2 (30% weight)

The elevated water tank of Figure 1a weighs 90 kips. The tower has a lateral stiffness of 10 kips/in,
and is subjected to the time-varying force p(t) shown in Figure 1b. Assume zero damping and that
the tower is at rest at time t = 0. Treating the water tower as an SDOF system, determine:
(a) the equation that describes the dynamic response u(t) for 0 < t < 4 seconds.
(b) the equation that describes the dynamic response u(t) for t > 4 seconds.

(a) (b)

Figure 1
University of California, Berkeley Structural Engineering, Mechanics & Materials
Civil and Environmental Engineering Spring Semester, 2019

Problem 3 (40% weight)

Figure 2 shows a two-storey sway-frame. Assume the floors remain horizontal during motion. The weight of
each storey is W = 100 kips. All columns have a height of h = 12 ft and a flexural rigidity of EI = 5 x 106 lb-
ft2.
(a) Assuming zero damping, write the equation of motion.
(b) Assuming zero damping, the natural vibration periods are 2.15 seconds and 0.82 seconds. Determine the
mode shapes.
(c) Assuming 2% damping, use the response spectra in Figure 3 to estimate the maximum acceleration of the
top storey.

h EI EI

h EI EI

Figure 2

* Spectra shown for = 0, 2, 5, 10, 20%

Figure 3